A person desiring wireless communication typically purchases user equipment (UE), such as a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, a laptop, or the like. The person then typically signs a contract with a network operator for a subscription to use the operator's network for wireless communication. The network of the operator, called the operator network, typically includes base stations, access nodes, wireless modems, or the like, for wirelessly communicating with the user equipment. The operator network also typically includes gateways to packet data networks (PDNs), such as the Internet, private networks, or the like, which the user equipment can access through the operator network.
In order for the user equipment to access a desired packet data network, the user equipment typically specifies to the operator network an access point name (APN) that corresponds to the desired packet data network. For example, if user equipment is wirelessly connected to an operator network and the user of the user equipment enters a command to access the Internet, the user equipment would specify to the operator network an access point name that corresponds to the Internet. The user equipment could then receive data services through the operator network from the packet data network represented by the access point name.